Riots broke out on Capitol Hill Wednesday (6) as President Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building to prevent certification of the Electoral College vote results. Trump called on supporters to remain peaceful and filmed asking them to go home, but argued that the situation was the result of election fraud and reiterated that someone stole the election.
Trump hinted at a rally earlier in the day that he would step toward Capitol Hill, but eventually returned to the White House after the rally. In the face of the conflict in the Capitol building, he posted two articles in a row on social networks, asking all those who are on Capitol Hill to remain peaceful and not to use violence, “we are the party of law and order”, calling on supporters to respect law enforcement officers; and said the police and law enforcement are truly on the side of the country and should support them.
But in the face of strong appeals from both Republican and Democratic parties, Trump later uploaded a clip on social media calling on supporters to go home. He said: “I know your pain and hurt, someone stole this election from us, it was a landslide election, everyone knows that, especially the other side, but you need to go home now. We need peace, law and order, respect for the great law enforcement officers, and we don’t want anyone to get hurt.”
However, Trump later posted on social media, blaming the incident on the denial of a “sacred landslide victory,” saying that great patriots have been unfairly and poorly treated for too long. While he asked supporters to return home in a loving and peaceful manner, he called for “this day to be remembered forever.
As for Pence, who presided over a special joint session of Congress, after the Secret Service agents escorted the evacuation, he criticized the demonstrators’ behavior in a social network post, saying that there was violence and destruction in the Capitol building, and asked them to stop and leave immediately. He said peaceful demonstrations are the right of the people, but will not tolerate attacks on Congress, and participants will be punished by law.
House Speaker Pelosi and Democratic Senate Leader Schumer issued a statement calling on Trump to ask the protesters to leave the Capitol Hill area. Trump’s daughter Ivanka also posted on social media, initially describing the protesters as patriots, but later deleted the post and said instead that “peaceful demonstrations are patriotic acts” and that violence is unacceptable.
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